A MAN who killed his “best friend” before stuffing his body into a sewage pipe almost quarter of a century ago was sentenced to eleven-and-half-years in jail on Thursday.
Mark Masefield, 43, was finally sentenced for the manslaughter of “vulnerable” Anthony Pryke, 17, whose body he stowed away in a sewage drain after hitting him with a scaffolding pole in August 1987.
Anthony’s badly decomposed body was only discovered in December of the same year after workmen were called out to investigate the blocked drain in the back garden of his home in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham.
Rather than admit to the killing, Masefield kept silent for almost 25 years before confessing to the grisly crime at a police station in July last year, Birmingham Crown Court heard today/yesterday.
Even when Anthony’s brother, David, was arrested on suspicion of his brother’s murder, Masefield still failed to come forward to confess that he had been responsible for the teenager’s death, Graham Reeds, prosecuting, said.
Mr Reeds added that Masefield had come forward after a drunken confession to a friend had made its way to David.
Masefield had told police that he feared for the safety of himself and his family if he had not confessed, the court heard.
Mr Reed told the court that Masefield and Anthony had been ‘like brothers’ prior to his death, and that he had been killed as a result of a drunken argument between the pair.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Anthony’s brother David said he had been unable to live a normal life since he was falsely accused of murdering his brother.
He said: “It has completely ground me down for 25 years and at times I have not been a very nice person at all.
“Even after Anthony’s body was found he (Masefield) still didn’t come forward.
“He’s never cleared my name and let everybody believe that I killed my own brother.”
Sentencing Masefield, Judge William Davies QC slammed him for his “lack of respect for his friend.”
He said: “You disposed of his body in the most appalling way, with a total lack of respect for him and his memory.”
Judge Davies added that Masefield’s failure to confess to his crimes has caused distress to Anthony’s family.
He said: “Your crime is gravely aggravated by what amounts to a sustained perversion of the course of the course of justice.”
He added: “You lied and you lied in a malicious way sufficient not in a way that you directly made an allegation against anyone else, but enough to cast suspicion on David Pryke.
Masefield was sentenced as if he had committed the offence today, but the judge took into account that he was 19 at the time of the killing.
Judge Davies added that the sentence may have seemed unsatisfactory to the members of Anthony’s family who attended court today.
He said: “This sentence won’t seem anything like as long as it should be to those sitting in the public gallery.”
Anthony’s brother David and sister Caroline sobbed as sentence was read out.
Masefield, wearing a grey jumper and jeans, showed no emotion as he was sentenced.
He will be eligible for early release half way through his sentence.
After the case Glenn Moss from West Midland’s Police’s Major Investigation Review Team said: “We welcome today’s sentence.
“This was a tragic case which the family of Anthony have had to cope with for 25 years.
“It goes to show that we do keep unsolved crimes open; reviewing them on a regular basis and doing everything we can to bring offenders to justice.
“The last 25 years have been incredibly traumatic for Anthony’s family and I hope that they can now find some solace and closure following today’s sentencing.”
